Canada forces arbitration in freight train labor dispute to avert economic crisis. Union cries foul

abcnews.go.com:

The Canadian government has ordered the country’s two major freight railroads to enter binding arbitration with their labor union to resolve a contract dispute

TORONTO — Freight trains in Canada could be running again within days after the government forced the country’s two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union Thursday, a move aimed at averting potentially dire economic consequences across the country and in the U.S. if the trains are sidelined for a long period.

The government’s action came more than 16 hours after Canadian National and CPKC locked out workers over a labor agreement impasse. Both railroads said they would work to get trains moving again as soon as possible.

The union representing 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers responded angrily to the order, accusing the railroads of intentionally creating a crisis to force the government to intervene. It also said it would keep its picket lines in place while reviewing the decision.

The government ordered the railroads into arbitration with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference to end the lockout that began at 12:01 a.m. Thursday after the two sides were unable to resolve the contract dispute.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced the decision to order the arbitration at a news conference Thursday. MacKinnon said he expects the trains will resume moving within days. Ending the lockouts is the first step.

The arbitration process was moving quickly, with the railroads meeting with the Canada Industrial Relations Board on Thursday night, according to a person familiar with the schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it. The Teamsters confirmed that the union was also meeting with the